‘Very Responsive to Them’: Days After His Stern Remarks, PGA CEO Clear the Air on the Much Anticipated OWGR Debate

Golf fans are no strangers to the ongoing rift between LIV golf and OWGR. Ever since its creation, there is only one department that LIV Golf is struggling with – Ranking its players on the OWGR. LIV Players need OWRG Ranking to maintain their status as the top players, but the league has still not received the approval to do so. The fans are eager to know what will happen next in this saga.

And now, days before the 2023 PGA Championship, Seth Waugh, CEO of PGA of America has made a statement and revealed what is the current situation in the tussle. Speaking at the PGA Championship conference held at the Oak Hill Country Club, New York on Tuesday, Waugh shed a light on the progress regarding the ongoing issue.

PGA CEO says the ball of ranking is in LIV’s court.

The previous Independent Director to PGA agrees that there has been a lot of ‘collegial back and forth’ between LIV and OWGR which he called ‘healthy’ and not ‘acrimonious’ just like other tours.“ Waugh admitted. “We’ve been, I think, very responsive to them in terms of their requests, and they’ve been responsive to us.”

Also Read – Just Days After Labelling LIV Golf ‘Flawed’ and Negating Its Identity, PGA CEO Backtracks His Sentiments Hours Before the 105th Championship

Shedding light on the matter, the former businessman has chosen careful words to state that “There is no magic to 12 months” and clarified that “It is not an us vs them situation.” It is evident that OWGR isn’t time bound to make any major decision regarding LIV Golf’s ranking fate. Waugh declared that “it is a natural process” and based on their last response “the ball is in LIV’s court.”

“The whole point is to create a level playing field, a yardstick by which to measure the game.” He further revealed.“Our job is to measure tours. Not players but tours and how they perform on those tours to come up with that yardstick.” Surprisingly Waugh has eased his words and chagrin towards the Saudi League after calling it ‘flawed’ recently.

Why are the LIV golfers not being granted OWGR ranking?

The question that remains is why the OWGR is taking so long to give ranking points to LIV Golf. Apparently, the Saudi-backed League hasn’t met the criteria of conditions set out by OWGR, which may have resulted in it being yet unqualified.

Firstly, the newly formed tour has a no-cut policy and all other tours approved by OWGR have a cut-line rule. Another major point is that any tour body must have a standing of 1-2 years to qualify for rankings and right now LIV is taking baby steps in terms of longevity.

Also, OWGR favors the traditional 72-par format, while LIV is following the 54-hole format. LIV CEO Greg Norman has previously criticized OWGR and called its ranking inaccurate ‘without the presence of some of the best players.’

In the middle of all of this are the LIV players like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and others who are being affected and drastically falling in their world rankings everyday. Waugh has clarified that it isn’t a battle, and a final decision is still hanging in the air. However, Seth Waugh being an OWGR Board member could play a key role in the decision regarding ranking.

What is your stance on the whole LIV Golf OWGR issue? Do you think that the LIV players should be awarded the OWGR? Let us know in the comments down below.

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